SAMPLE Layoff Letter from the Governor’s Office

Employee Notice of Layoff

Due to the continuing fiscal crisis in the State of California it has
become necessary to reduce civil service positions. This is to notify you
that ______ positions in the classification of __________________________
have been identified for elimination in the __________(Department Name)
____________________. This is considered your final notification
of layoff.

Civil service rules require that the least senior employees in the department receive surplus notices when there is a reduction in the workforce. You have been identified as one of the least senior in your department which means that you face layoff.

You have been designated as surplus and have priority hiring preference for open positions in special funded positions. Your department has submitted an State Restriction Of Appointment (SROA) Scantron Form to the State Personnel Board to give you preference in hiring on the certification process for your classification.

Now that you have been informed of your surplus/SROA status, there are specific things you need to do and keep in mind:

• Read and keep this letter, attach a copy of this letter to your job application form (Std. 678) and take a copy to all State job interviews. This will verify your surplus status to hiring departments.
• Always respond quickly to hiring departments inquiries. If you do not, you surplus/SROA status may be impacted.
• Appear for all scheduled interviews; your eligibility for surplus status will be impacted if you do not.
• Keep your contact information current.
• If you are offered a job for which you qualify, accept it. Otherwise your surplus/SROA status and hiring preference for a job will be in jeopardy.

For more information on the State's surplus/SROA lists and layoffs go to:
www.dpa.ca.gov/personnel-policies/sroa/main.htm.

A Letter to Matt Cate

Dear Mr. Cate:

This letter is written on behalf of all the men and women that work for you in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations that are represented by Bargaining Unit 6.

In opening, we feel compelled to refresh your memory regarding the furloughing of Unit 6 members. On or about December 19, 2008, the Governor issued Executive Order S-16-08 directing State agencies to furlough employees for two days per month. On or about July 9, 2009 the Governor added a third furlough day via Executive Order S-13-09. These Executive Orders contained "limited" exemptions but also specifically exempted those who provide "service and functions of state government directly related to the preservation and protectionof human life and safety."

 ...continued in attached document  

New Directions A blueprint for reforming California’s prison system

A blueprint for reforming California’s prison system to protect the public, reduce costs and rehabilitate inmates

California Correctional Peace Officers Association 

January 2010

CALIFORNIA’S PRISON SYSTEM is failing at every level. The cost to taxpayers and public safety for this failure is staggering. More than 170,000 inmates are now being warehoused in facilities designed to accommodate 80,000 inmates. Coupled with severe staff shortages, this overcrowding is inordinately jeopardizing the safety of inmates and correctional officers, while straining prison resources and infrastructure to the breaking point. Today, an average of nine correctional officers are assaulted every day inside California prisons, while tens of thousands of inmates are being denied the help and incentives needed to help make them productive citizens.

Inmate rehabilitation programs are failing, turning prison gates into revolving doors, giving California one of the nation’s highest recidivism rates. Thousands of inmates who have served their sentences are being released without the education, job training or basic life skills needed to function in society. With few chances to succeed, they have little choice but to return to crime.

California’s parole policies are also failing. Parole officers are overworked and overwhelmed. Parolees are receiving neither the services nor support they need to find jobs, deal with substance abuse or resolve psychological issues. This is wasting their lives, bankrupting taxpayers and endangering public safety

Following is our blueprint for fixing California’s broken prison system — a plan that offers relevant reform at multiple levels. Together, these reforms will save billions of tax dollars, protect the public and help inmates turn their lives around.

MIKE JIMENEZ, President 

California Correctional Peace Officers Association  

CCPOA Generic Form

Statewide Meetings Registration Form

Supervisory Support Documents

Check out the Supervisory support documents with information relating to various counseling and support services available to Supervisory Members (S-06 and M-06). Click on the links to check out the information available on specific topics and issues - contact and access information is available at the bottom of each document.

letter from Chuck Alexander to Senate Leaders

Read the thank you letter from Chuck Alexander to Senate Leaders.

CCPOA’s Reply to Opposition to Request for Injunction Relief

CCPOA replies to the Opposition to Request for Injuctive Relief. CCPOA's demand for a resumption of bargaining is an issue of first impression under the Dills Act; however, "construing and applying the duty to bargain... [is a] task lying at the heart of the Board's function."

Request for Injunctive Relief

On March 11, 2008, CCPOA filed this REQUEST FOR INJUNCTIVE RELIEF with the Public Employment Relations Board. The complaint is basically an allegation that the State is in violation of the law by their refusal to return to the negotiations table with CCPOA for the purpose of negotiating an MOU. This is predicated on a "change in circumstance" that CCPOA believes has taken place since the LBFO was implemented that mandates a return to bargaining. Our complaint points out several substantial changes since the imposition of the LBFO including:

• DPA's failure to secure Legislative approval for the LBFO
• The Governor's declaration of a fiscal state of emergency, and
• The PERB's issuance of a complaint regarding the duration of the LBFO.

Managing Elderly Inmates

The main purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive profile of the older offenders in federal institutions and community settings. This report highlights the problems and unique needs of these offenders that set them apart from their younger adult counterparts. We defined first the terms used in the study and the age of the offenders.

We collected data on the population of older offenders (50 years and older)

Continue Reading...

Addressing Correctional Officer Stress: Programs and Strategies

Stress among correctional officers is widespread, according to research studies and anecdotal evidence. The threat of inmate violence against officers, actual violence committed by inmates, inmate demands and manipulation, and problems with coworkers are conditions that officers have reported in recent years can cause stress.

These factors, combined with understaffing, extensive overtime, rotating shift work

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Federal, State, and Local Government Links

Find useful links to Local, State, and Federal Government  agencies including a list of State Department of Corrections by State. 

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Visit Washington, D.C.

U.S. Senate Visitors Center

Constituent Breakfast with Senator Dianne Feinstein

U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein: Tours and Information

United States House of Representatives:  Visiting Washington, D.C.

Visiting the White House

Federal Corrections Reports

Find and read reports regarding Federal Corrections; ranging in subject from Capitol Punishment, to Family, Leadership, to Technology and much more...  

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Contracting Practices for Private Community Correctional Facilities, CDC

From the Introduction section of the Auditor's report:
In 1965, to provide needed housing, supervision, counseling, and other correctional programs for inmates committed to its institutions, state law authorized the department to establish, operate, and contract for "community correctional centers," commonly referred to as CCFs. The Community Correctional Facilities Administration, within the Institutions Division of the department, administers support functions, such as developing and processing CCF contracts. The department's Office of Contract Services also participates in contract matters, such as the administration of the original contract and any amendments.

Accountability Audit Review of 2000-2003 Audits for CYA

From the Executive Summary of the OIG's report:
In the past four years, the Office of the Inspector General has performed nine audits identifying deficiencies in the institutions and programs of the California Youth Authority and has issued 241 recommendations to address the problems. The Youth Authority agreed with nearly all the recommendations at the time the audits were issued and promised to fix the deficiencies. The Accountability Audit presented here determined that 57 percent of the previous recommendations have been fully or substantially implemented, but additional progress is needed. Many of the deficiencies that have not been corrected are central to the Youth Authority's core mission of rehabilitating the young men and women entrusted to its care. For example, my office found that some wards are still confined to cells 23 hours per day with little access to the education and counseling services that are so critical to rehabilitation efforts.

CCPOA Information for Parole Services Associates

If you are a Parole Services Associate and you hired on or after August 11, 2004 you were automatically enrolled in the Alternative Retirement Program (ARP).

What this means is that for the first two years 5% of their pay was deducted and placed in an ARP account. In their 25th month, the deduction stop going into the ARP and start going to CalPERS. During months 47 and 49, they have to choice what to do with the money in their ARP account. They have three options:

1. They can transfer the money to CalPERS.

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Apprenticeship Program Update

State Board,

As you have been previously informed, CCPOA is actively litigating the validity of the CDCR Apprenticeship program. On Friday, (January 23, 2009) we filed the attached writ with the Sacramento Superior Court.

Upon further developments on this case, we will notify you via e-mail, as well as posting on the CCPOA web page.

MRSA INFO FOR COPS AND FIREFIGHTERS

MRSA FACT SHEET FOR PEACE OFFICERS AND FIREFIGHTERS (040908, v8)

Eric L. Nelson, M.S., M.A. ©2008

elnelson@ucdavis.edu

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a staph infection which only responds to the most powerful drugs, and it can be fatal even in children (Mayo Clinic, 2007; CDC, 2001). In 2005 MRSA killed 18,650 people in the U.S. -- more than were killed by AIDS. Another 94,000 Americans sustained life-threatening MRSA infections, and MRSA has become the leading cause of soft tissue infections presented in hospital Emergency Rooms (Klevens, Morrison & Nadle, 2007). Additionally, MRSA can contribute to the worsening of other disease processes such as toxic shock syndrome, bacteremia, pneumonia, endocarditis, and osteomyelitis (Christianson et. al., 2007).

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October-December 2005 Quarterly Audit

The Office of the Inspector General investigates and audits the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to uncover criminal conduct, administrative wrongdoing, poor management practices, waste, fraud, and other abuses. This quarterly report summarizes the audit and investigation activities of the Office of the Inspector General for the period October 1, 2005 through December 31, 2005. The report satisfies the provisions of California Penal Code sections 6129(c)(2) and 6131(c), which require the Inspector General to publish a quarterly summary of investigations completed during the reporting period, including the conduct investigated and any discipline recommended and imposed. To provide a more complete overview of the Inspector General's activities and findings, this report also summarizes audits, special reviews, and warden candidate evaluations conducted by the office during the fourth quarter.

Table Negotiations Sign-in Sheet

Table Negotiations Sign In Sheet.